December 2025 New Cookbook Review

We are putting the finishing touches on 2025 and looking forward to a new year. I prepared a simple roundup of holiday, entertaining, and baking cookbooks that may help you plan your end of the year holiday meals and baking. I have also published Top 2025 cookbooks added to EYB Member Bookshelves and by region for you.

Our 2026 Cookbook Preview Post has been published and will be updated with additions and revisions as the months go by – and go by quickly they do.

Don’t forget that you can create a wishlist and share it with your loved ones. A few members have been asking some questions about how to do particular notes and more, our Ideas on how to make EYB work better for you with links to new features and helpful posts is a great resource.

Our December 2025 EYB Cookbook Club Summary and January 2026 Great Big Cookbook Club Summary (please note the many changes and additions to this summary) can be found at the links provided.

A reminder about the mobile app: We’re calling the app CookShelf, and you can subscribe in the app, or access it as part of your Eat Your Books Premium membership. You can download the app on the Apple App Store here and on Google Play Store here. If you’re having issues linking your EYB account in CookShelf (maybe you’re seeing the paywall when you are already a Premium member, or your books aren’t syncing), here’s some info on how to resolve that.

A while back we announced that we have connected the EYB database to ckbk’s library of digital cookbooks. ckbk is a cookbook subscription site where you can access the full content of 1,068 great cookbooks, the majority of which are indexed here on EYB (and more will be indexed every week). For all the details, please see Jane’s post. If any of this month’s books are a part of the ckbk library, we have identified them as such: ckbk.

If you would like to order any of these titles (or preorder/order any other books or items) using our affiliate links below or BUY BOOK button on the book details page, earns Eat Your Books revenue as an Amazon Affiliate from qualifying purchases when using our links:

USA * Canada * UK * Australia 

Please also remember your local bookstores – for preorders as well – authors state that preorders really help with their budgets for publicity, etc.

If there is an   available for a cookbook, look for the orange icon in the blurb. Clicking on that link will take you directly to the Preview.

Lastly, if EVENTS are planned for these books, I have included a link. Be sure to check our Calendar frequently for new entries – there are loads of events around the world.

To jump to a particular country’s listing, please click on the links below.

• United States
• United Kingdom/Ireland
• Australia

United States

Everyday Elixirs: Mocktails, Matchas, and Seasonal Drinks to Inspire Wellness by Blair Horton is a wellness-focused collection of 80 seasonal, delicious, and healthful beverage and mocktail recipes. Whether you’re looking for an alternative to an alcoholic beverage or to proactively support your wellness, the holistic nutritionist has a tasty drink for you. In each of her 80 mocktail and beverage recipes, she deliciously features seasonal ingredients known to aid and support your health, with benefits that can boost your immunity, reduce inflammation, promote digestion, and more. Blair guides us through the seasons, starting first with foundational herbal, spiced, and floral syrups, before inviting us to find the magic in every sip.

The Instant Kitchen Meal Prep Cookbook: Plan and Cook Ahead for Fast, Family-Friendly Meals Using Your Pressure Cooker and Air Fryer by Coco Morante is a weeknight meal prep guide using your pressure cooker and air fryer to save on time, cooking, and cleanup, with 10 weeks of dinner meal plans, 20 bonus recipes, and inspiration for quick breakfasts and lunches. Here, the author outlines 10 weeks of shopping lists; quick, organized prep work; and dinner meals for the week with ingredient overlap for easier prep with a variety of delicious flavors to keep it interesting. These weeknight dishes utilize your pressure cooker or air fryer for fast, hands-off cooking, making weeknights easier than ever. Just toss your prepped food in the appliance, and dinner will be assembled in no time. The final chapters include simple make-ahead or last-minute breakfasts, lunch inspiration, quick and easy bonus dinner ideas, and baked goods to keep in your rotation.

Crab: Recipes with the Fresh Taste of the Sea by Cynthia Nims is a reissue of Crab: 50 Recipes with the Fresh Taste of the Sea that was published in 2016 and shares a collection of 50 tasty recipes that make the best use of East and West Coast crabs. Beyond the recipes, Nims offers background on crab species, information about seasonal harvest and sport crabbing, and plenty of kitchen tips to make the most out of crab. Pass the crab crackers!

Einkorn Made Easy: 50 Simple Recipes for Nature’s Delicious Low-Gluten Ancient Grain by Adrian J.S. Hale is a modern guide to cooking with einkorn, featuring updated recipes tailored for home cooks with a sensitivity to gluten or exploring alternatives to conventional wheat. Discover how you can make a smooth transition to regular all-purpose flour to low-gluten einkorn flour, without having to give up gluten all together.

Feast on Your Life: Kitchen Meditations for Every Day by Tamar Adler: “Delight in food, in eating, in cooking, in serving, in recognizing our luck when we feel full is available to all of us,” says the author. She found relief and ease in spending a year recording instances of such delight. Her hope is that her observations might do the same for you. Each captivating entry is a celebration of simple pleasures. From the pleasure of picking sun-warmed cherries to the comfort of a perfectly cooked meal, Adler’s reflections range from short, lyrical musings – a series of phrases, a list of words, a quick poem – to longer, thought-provoking meditations. All in all, they represent the kitchen (and adjacent) happiness of one year. There are 20 recipes in the book and two online recipes.

Essential Shellfish Collection: Special Edition, 3-Book Box Set: Crab, Oysters, Shellfish by Cynthia Nims is a special edition, 3-book box set featuring Cynthia Nims’s popular books on Pacific Coast shellfish cookery Crab; Oysters; Shellfish just in time for gift giving. If you dream about perfectly prepared crab cakes, showstopping lobster dinners, and joyful clambake celebrations, this endlessly giftable cookbook set is for you!

The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Cookbook: Optimize Health, Boost Your Immune System, Promote Longevity by America’s Test Kitchen shares 400+ dietician-backed recipes to prove how easy and delicious an anti-inflammatory diet can be! Complete nutritional info, dairy- and gluten-free options, and meal prep tips make this a comprehensive anti-inflammatory cookbook and guide.

The Preserver’s Garden: How to Grow a Garden for Fermenting, Canning, Pickling, Dehydrating, Freeze Drying, and More by Staci and Jeremy Hill: Discover how to plan, plant, and grow a garden with food preservation and long-term storage in mind – plus, meet seven different preservation techniques. In addition to taking a deep dive into seven different methods of food preservation – freezing, drying/dehydration, pressure canning, water bath canning, salting, freeze drying, and fermenting. Also included are 22 in-depth produce profiles – from tomatoes and squash to onions and berries – where you’ll learn specifics about everything from growing requirements and harvesting tips to the best preservation methods and plant care techniques to increase the harvest.

The Hoosier Mama Book of Breakfast Bakes: Biscuits, Scones, Muffins, and More by Paula Haney: The owner of the legendary Hoosier Mama Pie Company turns breakfast into an art form with this go-to guide for baking scones, muffins, and other morning favorites. Her debut cookbook The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie was published in 2013. With a focus on local produce and fresh, seasonal ingredients that made her pies a Chicago institution, Haney again invites home bakers into her kitchen this time with a collection of budget-friendly recipes that largely go from idea to eating in under an hour. This book is meant to be kept on the kitchen counter with a dusting of flour between its pages. It’s a working manual with practical tips and techniques along with base recipes that can handle endless variations, encouraging readers to discover their own favorite combinations.

Mocktail Hour: 70 Sips for Anytime Delights and Hangover-Free Nights by Callie Gullickson delivers 70 recipes from the popular Peloton instructor and lifestyle influencer. Having fun shouldn’t come at the price of not feeling our best. Whether you’re taking a break from booze, looking for refreshing alternatives, or just want to mix things up, this book is your go-to. When she says no fancy bartending skills are required, she means it!

United Kingdom

Protein in 15 by Joe Wicks is packed with quick, delicious protein-packed and unprocessed recipes for the whole family. We all need protein to help us balance blood sugar, build muscle, and maintain energy and concentration. Whether you’re a dedicated gym goer, a woman experiencing perimenopausal symptoms or just want to boost protein in your family meals without relying on ultra-processed foods, Protein in 15 has you covered. Real food for real people, the recipes are simple and speedy but big on flavour and are made with easy-to-source ingredients.

Quick Wins – Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives by Ella Mills (Woodward): Eating well isn’t about chasing perfection, and what works is often the simplest solution. The recipe here balance deliciousness, variety, nutrition and ease, so you can enjoy fresh, wholesome food without the stress. In this book, you’ll find eight weeks of meal plans designed to make healthy eating effortless. Each one comes with a shopping list for six dinners and two lunches, giving you plenty of flexibility to adapt to your routine. There’s no pressure to follow them exactly; swap recipes to suit your taste, skip meals if you’re out, or freeze extras from your batch cook. The goal is to help you enjoy delicious, nourishing meals while effortlessly getting 30 (or more!)

The Mocktail Hour: Deliciously Different Zero-proof Drinks for the Sober-curious by David T. Smith and Keli Rivers is an exciting collection of drink recipes that prove that ditching the booze doesn’t mean sacrificing taste. There are drinks to appeal to all tastes, whether you crave a burst of freshness, a hint of sweetness, a kick of tartness or a hit of bitterness.

Foolproof Batch Cooking: 60 Simple Meals to Save You Money, Time and Effort by Katie Marshall delivers 60 versatile recipes to prep ahead, grab and cook, with step-by-step instructions. Batch cooking is an essential way to get ahead for the week, saving you money, time and hassle. From freezer fillers to hearty soups and winter warmers, through roasting pan dinners, summer staples, and even innovative recipes that can be transformed into two meals with a few extra ingredients. With straightforward instructions, a photograph for every recipe and tips to avoid kitchen disasters, this book is packed with simple solutions to revolutionize eating on a budget.

20 Minute Low-Cal Kitchen Bangers: 100 Super Speedy and Slimming Recipes by Alex Hughes promises to hit your calorie deficit goals with delicious, low-calorie meals ready in just 20 minutes! Perfect for anyone looking to lose weight but short on time, these are quick and easy recipes you’ll keep coming back to.

Beyond Korean: Easy Recipes for Korean, Japanese, and Chinese Favorites by Aaron Huh: Discover the flavors of Korea and beyond with 100 simple recipes for noodle dishes, soups, sandwiches, and more from the Simply Korean author. Aaron makes cooking approachable and fun. Here he introduces 100 new recipes that draw on Korean, Japanese, and Chinese culinary traditions, along with detailed breakdowns of essential ingredients and cooking techniques to ensure success.

Australia

Everybody Loves Cake: Sweet Bakes & Stories by Alisa Henderson: The founder of Sweet Bakes has dedicated more than a decade to gaining an understanding of what makes a good cake truly glorious, and to perfecting recipes for the ultimate joy-filled bakes. In her debut cookbook, Alisha brings together her very best cake recipes, from classics to showstoppers. There’s something for every occasion and celebration, all beautifully photographed and accompanied by Alisha’s uplifting stories about the people closest to her and their favourite cakes.

Lucky Dragon Supper Club: Asian-inspired Dinner Party Ideas for Home Cooks by Stephanie Feher: The author created the social media account Lucky Dragon Supper Club during Covid lockdowns to share her culinary adventures with loved ones online. Since then, the brand has evolved to inspire people to eat good food and celebrate both community and the fun of entertaining. In her debut cookbook, she shares 88 recipes that reflect her creativity, her Chinese–Hungarian heritage and her love of cooking. From crowd-pleasing bites to share plates and epic mains, you can mix and match recipes to suit the occasion or use Steph’s themed menus to guide you. The best dinner parties are about more than just the food, and Steph’s clever suggestions for setting the mood and prep-ahead hacks will ensure your night is relaxed and memorable. Whether it’s a date-night dinner for two, a cosy meal for a small group or an ambitious supper-club spread, this book has everything you need to host in style without the hassle.